Animal grooming devices of the aforesaid general type have heretofore been proposed: see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,495,958, 4,183,328, 3,457,928 and 2,794,443. An advantageous feature of such devices is that they apply liquid directly upon the skin of the animal undergoing grooming or treatment, rather than merely upon the outer surface of the coat (which may be quite dense) of the animal.
An undesirable aspect of many of the previously proposed devices is the variability of the rate at which they discharge the liquids. The flow rate of those devices that utilize gravity feed of the liquid from a container or similar source to the toothed applicator head changes upon changes in the level of the liquid within the supply source. The liquid level in the supply source will of course drop as liquid is discharged therefrom, and may also change due to changes in the orientation of the applicator head and liquid source, which are usually fixedly connected to each other. Inversion or substantial inclination of the devices may result in complete cessation of the fluid flow therefrom. Similar deficiencies are inherent in devices that employ a flexible bottle or similar liquid source that is squeezed to force liquid to the toothed applicator head. The amount of liquid discharged from the bottle by a squeeze of any specific amount will vary with the ever-changing quantity of liquid then present within the bottle, and may also vary with changes in the bottle's orientation. Another disadvantage of those devices that employ a squeeze bottle integral with the applicator head is that they will in certain orientations discharge fluid even when none is desired and the bottle is not being squeezed.
While not of the hollow-tooth type, U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,738 discloses an animal grooming device wherein desired liquid is positively pumped to the applicator head, from a supply container integral with such head, by manual operation of a linearly-movable pump operator member. In various operating orientations of the device the pump mechanism would provide the desired greater degree of control over the fluid discharge rate. However, if the device were used in an inverted or downwardly inclined orientation, at a time when its liquid supply container was less than completely full, no fluid would be discharged upon actuation of the pump operator element. Such an orientation of the grooming device would appear to be necessary if all major surface areas of an animal are to be properly groomed or treated.
With the foregoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention is the provision of an improved liquid-dispensing grooming device, of the pump-actuated type, by which a desired amount of treatment or grooming liquid may be applied substantially uniformly to any and all surfaces of an animal undergoing treatment, and in which the required pumping action can be and is conveniently and easily producible for a considerable period of time by a finger of the user of the device.
A related and more specific object is the provision of a grooming device of the type in question that can be used to treat or groom substantially any surface areas of an animal without inversion or large magnitude inclination of either the pump or the liquid supply container of the device.